Key moments of R. Kelly's explosive CBS interview, from his temper tantrum to his dating preferences: 'I just look at legal'

By Jami Ganz

|New York Daily News|

Mar 06, 2019 | 8:35 AM

Must-see moments of R. Kelly's 'CBS This Morning' interview (CBS)

R. Kelly isn’t staying silent — and he isn’t taking the wave of controversy against him sitting down.

The disgraced R&B star, who faces 10 counts of sex abuse, grew heated during an interview with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King that aired Wednesday.

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Here are the most notable moments from the interview.

Standing up for himself… literally

After being asked about accusations of holding girls against their will, Kelly went into a rant, which eventually erupted into a temper tantrum. He pounded his fist against his chest, insisting, “I didn’t do this stuff,” before he yelled, “This is not me. I’m fighting for my f--king life. Y’all are killing me with this! I gave you 30 years of my f--king career. Thirty years of my career.” He continued to raise his voice, screeching, “Y’all trying to kill me. You’re killin’ me, man. This is not about music. I’m trying to have a relationship with my kids. And I can’t do it. Y’all just don’t want to believe the truth. You don’t want to believe it.”

King paused the interview to give Kelly a chance to regain his composure. After he was calmed down by his publicist, the interview resumed. At a round table with her fellow co-hosts, following the clips, King recalled that Kelly “became emotional many, many times” during the interview.

This could happen to ‘anybody famous’

In an excerpt to be aired Thursday, Kelly states his belief that, “Something like can happen to any artist. Anybody famous. Anybody famous can get accused of so many different things.”

King refuted the point, noting, “People have gone their whole careers and not have the allegations that have been leveled against you.”

Skirting around the issue

When asked if he’s ever held someone against their will, Kelly said, “I don’t need to,” and opted not to deny the specific claim outright, but to simply question the purpose of doing that. “How stupid would I be to do that? … Use your common sense. … I didn’t do this stuff.”

Repeating the past

King asked about Kelly’s relationship with the two women currently living with him, Joycelyn Savage, 23, and Azriel Clary, 21, who he likened to his girlfriends. As King pressed about the fact that they’re “much younger,” Kelly said, “I don’t look at ‘much younger than me,’ I just look at legal.”

King pushed the issue further, asking if Kelly is an “older man that likes younger women,” to which he responded, “I’m an older man that love all women.”

Though Kelly has known Clary since she was 17, he maintains he didn’t have sex with her at that age. He insists he has “never had sex with anyone under the age of 17.” Instead, he accused the girls’ parents of “handing them over” to him — a point on which he didn’t elaborate — saying that they are involved with him for money.

Abuse — often — begets abuse

King noted that Kelly has “talked very candidly—you were molested from the ages of seven to 13, 14,” and asked, “How do you think that has affected you?”

“It hasn’t affected me at all,” he responded, before quickly backtracking, “I mean, it has affected me. … Any struggles I’ve had in my past has affected my music.”